Different
by Nerdychick501
Summary: Lily Luna Potter is the daughter of the savior of the wizarding world and hates it, so she strives to be different from the rest of her family. Way different. Rating may go up as I continue, depending on Lily's mouth.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I tried to buy Harry Potter, but as it turns out, it's a multi-billion dollar franchise. Ah well. Everything here is beloved J.K. Rowling's.

Chapter 1 (possibly last):

Lilly Luna Potter, youngest child and only daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter, the saviors of the wizarding world. That was how she was known, right from the beginning, and she absolutely hated it. No one, I repeat, NO ONE, wanted to know her, not the real her, they just wanted to say they had met a Potter. So Little Lily Luna decided to be different, like she knew she was. She wasn't anything like her brave, bold, and sometimes stupid Gryffindor relatives, she planned things, was quick witted, and there for almost never got caught. Yes, Lilly knew she was different (although though she looked similar with her red hair and sparkling green eyes), and she started acting like it. She talked differently, dressed differently and had different colored hair tips nearly every month. She was different, no doubt about it, but really she hadn't changed; she just decided to stop pretending and be proud of different. This was whom she was, and she was going to let EVERYONE know.

When she turned 11, her Hogwarts letter came as expected. On that warm morning of September the 1st she walked through the wall and onto the platform with her father, grimacing as the stares of the students and their parents were immediately directed in their direction. Harry smiled to himself at the look of mild pain of his daughters face. Of the family, he had taken Lilly's transformation the past year the best. He understood his daughter's need to be seen as her, and not for what her father did, though he did wish she hadn't acted so drastically. She had nearly given her him a heart attack when she had come home a few weeks after summer started with her hair tips dyed lime green.

"I know, just ignore them." Harry whispered to his disgruntled daughter as he led her to the 4 member family which was, judging from the man's height and slight red he could he through the shifting steam and the crowd of parents and students, the Weasleys.

"LILLY!" someone yelled as they burst through the mist, and all she saw before she was knocked to the ground was a flash of red hair and a very excited face.

"Oof! Hello Hugo," wheezed Lilly, "um, air?"

"Oh! Sorry Lils." Hugo said as he scrambled up and offered Lilly his hand. Lilly accepted gratefully, and Hugo hauled her to her feet. Lilly grinned widely at him, her favorite cousin. He, like her father, had taken her change well, and even encouraged her to be different.

The rest of both the family showed up, Rose throwing a rather disdainful look on Lilly's ripped jeans, knee-high boots, and leather jacket combo. Lilly scowled. Out of all her cousins (which was a LOT), Rose was definitely her _least_ favorite, and she had tried many times to find out _how _Hugo was related to her. While most of the family had eventually excepted her change, Rose was still adamant that it was disgusting and "not the way a saviors daughter should present herself!" which was, ironically, exactly what she was going for, not presenting herself as a saviors daughter. Hermione gave her a friendly smiley and hug and Ron promptly shouted

"LILLYKINS!" and scooped her up into a bear hug, spinning her in a circle. Lilly giggled as Ron set her on her feet, swaying dangerously. Hugo steadied her and Aunt Hermione turned to Ron

" Ron! Don't injured the girl before she gets there!" she scolded, but the effect was rather ruined by the grinned that refused to stay off her face. Ron just shrugged.

Suddenly, the train whistle blew. Lilly whipped around and gave her mom a quick hug and a kiss before turning to her father.

"Bye dad," she whispered, " I'll miss you"

" I'll miss you to," to her father, whispered back, " see you at Christmas"

Lilly turned and jumped onto the train, as it gave a final whistle and started to chug out of the station, without so much as a single glance back.

" I'll miss you more then you know," Harry said to himself as he watched her retreating back with her electric blue tipped red hair falling down in gentle waves, "more than you know."

And with that, he turned away from the scarlet engine that was taking his little girl away from him, and stepped through the barrier and into the busy muggle station, as his daughter left her childhood behind forever and stepped into the beginnings of really growing up.


	2. Chapter 2

**I wrote this chapter really quickly in between Spanish and Algebra, so I apologize in advance for any errors. Thanks to EllieCullen19, Abby987, and TheLightUnderMyWings for reviews and favorites, you're the BEST!**

Chapter 2:

Lilly made her way down the aisle, looking for a place to sit. She paused at Al's compartment, but moved on at the glare she received from Rose. How Al could put up with her, she didn't know. So, she continued on like this till she reached the last compartment on the train, and by that point she was desperate. She made up her mind to sit there no matter who was there as well. She pushed open the door to find three girls, and from their nervous glances and minimal conversation, they were first years as well. Lilly nodded to the girls and they nodded back, so Lilly sat. After several long, boring minutes, Lilly decided to make some conversation.

"So," she began "what are your names?"

Two of the girls faces brightened, but the last ones, a pale girl with dark hair and a faintly pug-like nose, face clouded and she looked rather let down, as if she new it would come to this and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Pamella Zabini." She answered glumly.

The other girl's eyes were immediately wary, but not Lilly. She could see how tired Pamella was of the ridicule, the snotty comments and cruel rumors that no doubt flew about her and her family, and suddenly she thought that she, as Harry Potter's daughter, had gotten the better deal. At least they all loved her, instead of hated her and her family. So she decided to treat Pamella as her.

"Well it's nice to meet you." She answered.

Pamella's head shot up in surprise from were it had been hanging, and she stared at Lilly in awe, completely dumbfounded. The other girls stared to, wondering how Lilly could be so excepting toward the daughter of the girl who tried to turn her father over to Voldemort. They just shook their heads when Lilly turned to them, and started whispering to each other. Lilly just shrugged. Turning to Pamella she tried to strike up a conversation.

"So Pamella," she started, but was interrupted by the girl herself.

" Um, just Ella please," she said "I really have no idea what my mom was thinking when she named me, or what my dad was thinking when he let her."

Lilly laughed, and Ella smiled hesitantly, still on guard for a smack down. Lilly sighed.

"Ella," she started "I don't care who your parents are, or whatever they did. I'm talking to you, and your pretty nice so far, and that's really all that matters. I don't judge people on their parents, I mean, look at mine."

Ella's face, which was becoming brighter and brighter with every word out of Lilly's mouth, burst into a wide grin as she finish. She immediately started talking about everything under the sun, and it occurred to Lilly that she might have made this girl's day just a little happier, a little less nerve racking, because she had a friend to go through it with. And now she did to.

There was a sudden clattering and both girls jumped up as the trolley came into view outside their compartment door. They slid open the compartment door and attacked the food. Ella got her share and went back in, but Lily kept looking. She was trying to find the licorice snaps, which no one seemed to like but her, and yet they were still on the trolley she had heard. She found them in a small jar in the very bottom. She scooped a handful into a paper bag and paid, but as she turned to head back into her compartment, she ran into something very solid. She lost her balance and fell, licorice snaps flying, onto her butt. She sighed and looked up to see a very tall boy with white blond hair, holding out a hand and trying to keep from laughing. He failed miserably, but Lilly let it go, as she would probably do the same.

She accepted his hand and he hauled her to her feet. After she was stable on the rocking train, he spoke.

"I'm sorry, a was focused on the candy. What's your name?"

Lily looked up in surprise. It wasn't every day that someone asked her name, most people already knew it. Then she realized why. She knew who he was, and he knew she did, but he was trying to be different, to let her be herself and not her parents, and hoping in turn she would let him do the same. Her face broke in to a grin, and she stuck out her hand and replied.

"Lily Potter, and you are?"

Smiling as well, he shook her hand and answered

"Scorpius Malfoy, nice to meet you."

Somewhere in there, they came to an unspoken agreement, I won't judge you on your parents if you don't judge me on mine, and that worked for both of them. With that Lilly turned and headed back into her compartment, and spent the next 2 hours of the ride laughing with Ella. But as they got closer and closer to Hogwarts, the growing swarm of butterflies in their stomachs grew larger and larger, they talked less and less, until their arrival was met by stony silence in the compartment.

They were instructed to leave their bags on the train, so they left the compartment empty handed. It was as silent as a funeral procession as they filed into the boats and set off across the lake. There was a multitude of

"Ooooh"s and

"Ahhhhh"s as they turned the bend was met with the towering castle, rising steeply above them, light shining through the hundreds of windows in the walls. The next 10 minutes passed in a blur as they listened to Professor McGonagall explain the houses and points. Before they knew it they were standing in the Great Hall, the patched, old, and tattered hat sitting on the stool after just finishing it's song, Professor McGonagall unfurled the rather long list and began

" Abram, Sarah."

A short girl with equally short hair stumbled up to the stool, fumbled for a second, and then placed the Hat on her head. Silence reined in the Great Hall as the hat deliberated for a minute, then called out in a booming voice

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

It continued this way, with Lily zoning out around the d's, until McGonagall called,

"Potter, Lily."

The hall went deathly silent, and any whispered conversations going on instantly ceased. Even with two of them already sorted, it was still a big deal when that name was called. Lilly fisted her hands, determined not to show how hard they were shaking, and walked slowly and deliberately up to the stool. She stared at the back wall until the hat dropped over her head.

"Hmmm," Lily heard a voice murmur in her ear, "not like the rest, are you?"

"Not particularly." She answered.

"You're brave, yes, but not Gryffindor brave. And you are smart, of course, but not Ravenclaw smart. Your definitely not a Hufflepuff, you've lied to many times, so I think the best house for you would be…"

Lilly knew what was coming before it came.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Now the Great Hall was really silent.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! Sorry I disappeared for so long, if I didn't put down the laptop and pick up a pencil, I was going to fail my exams. Those are over now though, and I'm going to try to post a chapter every Friday. Thanks for being patient!**

Chapter 3:

Silence reined in the Great Hall as everyone stared at the hat still sat upon Lily's head. Slowly, as if there were sleeping dragons all around her, Lily reached up and picked it up off her head. It was as if someone had placed a spell and that was the counter-curse, because as soon as it came off, everyone started yelling. Roars of protest and outrage exploded from the Gryffindor table, particularly the Potter/Weasley clump, and the Slytherins cheered loudly as Lily stood up from the bench and strode toward their table. On her face was a fierce look of determination, shame, and a hint of something like pride. She sat next to a girl she watched get sorted just a little while ago, one who seemed pleasant enough. She risked a glance at the Gryffindors, and was met by an empty seat that had been saved, and would never be filled, and disappointed stares.

Lily sighed and sat to watch the rest of the sorting. She was happily surprised when Ella was sorted with her, and spent the rest of the feast chatting with her and the girl she sat next to, who turned out to be just as nice as she looked. Tall and thin, the girl (who's name turned out to be Samantha, or Sammie) had pointed featured and big blue eyes surrounded by a sea of freckles. Her long black hair reached her mid-back, and was as straight as a ruler. They ate and talked, laughing and feasting on everything, but especially the deserts. Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Pudding, and every candy imaginable were consumed, and the girls ended up great friends.

While Lily already knew Ella, she didn't know Sammie. She found out that Sammie was a half-blood, and lived not far from Lily. The talked about families, school, quidditch (Lily and Sammie played, but Ella didn't) and Slytherin. Lily told them about her family and what was sure to happen, and the gave her sympathetic looks and wished her good luck.

As the feast started drawing to a close, Lily felt a growing dread building up in the pit of her stomach. She was going to have to confront her cousins, there would be a scene, and it most definitely would not be pretty. Then the end came, and Lily got up slowly as the chorus of benches sounded, and the army of feet started out of the hall. She walked as if she was walking toward her death, hoping vainly that they had accepted her house placement and gone up to bed, or at least decided to wait till morning, but she had no such luck. Waiting at the door of the Great Hall, in all their redheaded glory (James and Albus being the only exceptions), stood the Weasley/Potters.

"LILLY!" James yelled, tackling her in a flying hug "Don't worry Lils, we'll get you out of there."

"BuatIdoantwanndagethouht" Lily said, her face pressed into James shoulder so that her words were indistinguishable. James let go of her.

"What was that Lilykins? Praising us for our generosity and awesomeness?"

Lily sighed. It had been hard enough to get up the nerve to say it the first time, and now she had to say it _again_. She took a deep breath and said it again, slowly and clearly.

"I don't want to get out. I like it there"

It was as if a bomb went off. For the first few seconds, everyone was in shock. And then, they panicked.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T WANT TO GET OUT!"

"Don't be silly Lily, that's not the place for you"

"YOU can't BE in SLYTHERIN!"

"But you'd be so much _happier_ in Gryffindor!"

"I'm going to McGonagal about this…"

"Stupid Sorting Hat, it HAD to have made a mistake!"

Lily waited for them to stop, and then she spoke.

"Guys, I really have thought this through. Slytherin isn't all that bad, and I've made some fantastic friends already. I just wouldn't fit in Gryffindor, and I don't want to switch. Slytherin is the right place, and the sorting hat didn't make a mistake. That's it, it's over, we're done here. Goodnight guys, I'll see you tomorrow."

Then, she spun on her heel, and before anyone could call her back, was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize profusely for the wait, I suffered major writers block on this chapter, which is also why it's so short. **

**Anything you recognize, isn't mine… unfortunately.**

Chapter 4:

Lily surfaced from the ocean of sleep early in the morning, but refused to open her eyes to the harsh morning light.

"Maybe," she said to herself "if I don't get up the day will go away."

She wasn't looking forward to the icy glares and cold silence that was sure to be projected her way, and was sure every one of them had owled their parents to inform of the scandal.

Lily sighed, and hauled herself out of bed despite every particle of her being against the idea. She pulled on her got dressed and pulled on her new school robes, before running a brush through her soft red hair. All of her roommates were slowly awakening as Lily slipped out the door and across the Slytherin common room. The early risers were already in the Hall, munching on their breakfast and waiting for their school schedules. Lily sat down among them, and glanced over the enormous breakfast spread. Eventually, she settled for some toast and jam (she had never really enjoyed marmalade), and sat chewing as she watched the late sleepers trickle in. She spotted Sammie and Ella shuffling in, bleary eyed and yawning, and waved them over. Ella and Sammie loaded their plates, digging in.

Then the sound of hoots and beating wings filled the hall, and a swarm of owls plunged down toward the students, each seeking a particular person. Heads turned as five owls landed at the Slytherin table, all directly in front of Lily. The Potter/Weasleys looked smug, happy their plan had worked. Now Lily would get some sense talked into her. Lily hesitated, then she reached for the owl nearest, figuring she might as well get it over with. At least she didn't see any howlers…

Dear Lily,

We are so proud of you sweetheart! There is absolutely nothing wrong with Slytherin, and don't let your cousins tell you any different. Speaking of them, if they give you any more trouble, tell them Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry won't get them anything for Christmas if they don't shove off. We've already sent owls to the boys telling them this, they shouldn't bother you.

Lilykins, don't be ashamed of your house. Some of the most honorable people we know were in that house once upon a time, and came out of it just fine. You'll shine in that house, and we are in no away ashamed of you.

Stay strong against your cousins, you're doing the right thing.

Love Always,

Mommy and Daddy

Lily sighed in relief, and that first positive letter gave her the strength to read the rest of the letter still attached to the impatient owls that stood ruffling their feathers and hooting irritably. Some were positive, others slightly disappointed but none completely against her. Sighing with relief as she finished the last letter, she looked around and was surprised to find a sheet of parchment with her classes on the oak table in front of her. Her schedule had arrived while she was reading, and she picked it up, scanning it quickly before hurrying off to the first class of what was sure to be a very long day.

Her first class was Potions, with the Gryfindors of course. The silence was tense in the hall as they waited for their teacher, Professor Unuldia, the strict head of Slytherin house. Nobody dared to breathe a word as they filed into the dungeon classroom, and not a peep was made as they took their assigned seats under the worn stone ceiling. Rather unfortunately for her, Lily was seated next to Hugo Weasley. They didn't look at each other as the teacher gave directions and rules, and silently prepared for their potions. It was about 10 minutes in when a whisper of sound came from one of the table's occupants, so quite that Lily almost missed it. Slowly, she turned around.

"Yes, Hugo?" she said coldly.

Hugo lifted his head to look her in the eyes "I'm sorry."

A huge weight lifted off her shoulders as she looked him in the eye and could tell that he meant what he said. She laughed and tackled Hugo in a hug, almost knocking him off his slightly wobbly stool.

"So…" Hugo started hesitantly "are we good?"

"Yes." Lily sighed "we're good."

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everybody! Sorry I've been gone for so long, I've been suffering from writers block. Excuses excuses, I know, so I just sat down and started writing. This is the result, I hope you like it.**

Chapter 5:

Lily was wrong, so very wrong. Her day, which had started reasonably well, only went downhill from the minute the optimistic thought of a good day crossed her mind. She blew up her cauldron rather spectacularly, but thankfully no one was injured in the incident. She broke five pots in the first 10 minutes of herbology, and they were just doing theory work. She did discover she was rather good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, but lit her charm textbook alight practicing a wand motion. She suffered through History of Magic in silent stupor, and sat facing away from the Gryffindor table at lunch and dinner to avoid the dagger looks.

While she had made a break through with Hugo, who chattered quite cheerfully through the rest of potions and laughed his butt off when her potion exploded, the rest of her relatives were stubbornly ignoring her. Some, mostly Rose, she didn't mind, but watching her brothers walk by in the halls without even giving her a second glance hurt.

She bumped into Scorpius (literally), but he didn't stop to say anything but sorry. Then, as if to dump salt on her wounds, every teacher had given homework.

Lily sat in the Common Room, lounging in an armchair supposedly doing homework, but in reality was just staring at the flicking flames charmed to appear green, till Sammie flopped down on the armrest and shook her out of her stupor

"You should go to bed," she said " you look like you're in Binns class, and your definitely not doing any work."

"I know, I know," sighed Lily, but she didn't make any effort to move from her seat by the fire.

" What's wrong?" Sammie questioned with concern. Even though they met each other yesterday, the three of them were already practically best friends.

" I just had a long day," mumbled Lily, hauling herself out of her seat and cracking her back before moving toward the stairs.

Sammie skipped after her, throwing an arm around her shoulders and keeping up a constant stream of encouraging and cheerful till they got to their dormitory, were the discovered Ella asleep Lily's, fully dressed and snoring away.

"She sure loves her beauty rest," grunted Lily as they dragged Ella's limp form to her own bed.

"You don't have to tell me twice," groaned Sammie " I nearly had to use a bull horn to get her up this morning."

Lily laughed and they tucked Ella into bed, still fully dressed, and climbed into their own. Lily went to bed that night significantly more cheerful then she had been all day.

She had survived her first rather awful day. Now she just had to make it through the rest of them.


End file.
